The harness racing industry has recently rallied to raise funds to assist the family of Brad Hanners. Hanners, a well known harness racing driver throughout the Midwest, was diagnosed with cancer and has drawn the support of thousands in Indiana and across the entire nation.
One of the latest gestures of support comes via the Hoosier Park driving colony. Drivers Peter Wrenn and Tyler Smith announced that they will be donating their percentage of purse earnings won at Hoosier Park on Tuesday, September 8 through Saturday, September 12 to the Hanners Family.
Both Wrenn and Smith are among Hoosier Park’s top 10 leading drivers for the 2015 harness racing season. Smith is the nephew of Hanners and credits much of his early racing success to his uncle.
Hanners, an Ohio native who currently lives in Ohio with his wife Alicia and children JorDan, Austin, Luke and Mia, has posted 4,888 wins as a driver and 357 victories as a trainer throughout his career. Hanners also earned a spot in the Hoosier Park history books after he was victorious in the 2009 edition of Hoosier Park’s signature harness racing event, The Dan Patch, behind Mister Big.
“All of us at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino are deeply saddened with the news of Brad’s illness,” said Rick Moore, Hoosier Park’s vice president and general manager of racing. “The amount of support we’ve seen for Brad and his family has been great and we really appreciate what the drivers and horse racing community have done and are planning to do. The need is overwhelming and it is up to each of us to do our utmost to help Brad and his entire family during this time of need.”
Family and friends of Hanners will also host a benefit on Saturday, September 12 at Scioto Downs beginning at 5:30 p.m. The event will include a silent auction featuring numerous items donated throughout the harness racing community and a raffle for a brand new racebike. All proceeds from the silent auction and raffle will go to help the family through this difficult time.
Along with other charitable donations to the family, Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will contribute a VIP basket to be auctioned off at the benefit and has set-up a fund in the paddock to accept donations from the horse racing community for the family.
A Facebook 'Hanners Strong Benefit' page, which has added more than 600 attendees since its creation last week, can be found by clicking here.
In addition to the benefit, a Go-Fund Me account has been set-up to help offset the medical costs for the family. The Go-Fund Me account can be found by clicking here.
(Hoosier Park)